On Sunday, February 9, 2014 at approximately 12 noon, the FortisTCI power plant on Leeward Highway experienced technical difficulties following an explosion and electrical fire in one of the plants main switchgear rooms. It was the courageous efforts by staff working on the plant yesterday who rushed to the scene of the explosion in attempt to extinguish the fire, avoiding what could have been a disastrous situation.
Shortly thereafter, during the troubleshooting phase to determine the cause of the explosion, a major fault was located on one of the main cables leading to the plant’s 12Kv substation and electrical bus bar. The combination of both these incidents resulted in a complete shutdown at approximately 1:38 p.m. Engineers immediately began working to repair and restore power to customers. Given the magnitude of the damages, significant repair time was required. Work on all faults and damages that occurred earlier in the day were completed at approximately 9:00 p.m. Unfortunately, challenges occurred as the engineering team attempted to begin restoration efforts leading to further delays.
Power was restored at approximately 1:42 a.m. today (Monday) to the first group of customers, followed by another group of customers restored at 2:42 a.m. FortisTCI President and CEO Eddinton Powell said in an afternoon press briefing, “No power plant in the world is free and clear of technical problems. These are very complex systems. This is an incident that occurred in the oldest section of our plant for reasons at this time we are unaware of. Our focus right now is to fully restore power to all of our customers in Providenciales. We understand the importance of having electricity in your homes and businesses and I assure you that we are working around the clock to resolve this unfortunate series of events.”
As of 4:35 p.m. today crews are working to restore power to parts of Grace Bay, Leeward, Leeward Palms, and Blue Hills.
Updates will continue to be provided to customers as the restoration efforts progress. FortisTCI apologizes to customers for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding and patience during this challenging time.
